Welsh Journals

REVIEW The Red Fox, H. G. Lloyd, B. T. Batsford Ltd., 1980, pp. 1-320, £ 15. CONTAINED within the covers of this book is a detailed and comprehensive study of that fascinating mammal, the Red Fox, and the author is to be congratulated for his systematic approach in this concatenation of many aspects of fox studies. This work which is the result of some twenty years of detailed research adds much to our knowledge of this mammal. The general reader, whose biology may not be his strongest point, will find that the author thoughtfully introduces him to the basis of each avenue of study. The well-balanced accounts of the life and biology of the fox make it an excellent text book for the student; and provides valuable information for those who require it, whether they are interested in or affected by the animal, directly or indirectly. For those with a specialist interest in such studies, an extensive bib- liography is provided. The author is continually aware of the complexities involved in these studies. He always resists the temptation to draw hasty conclusions and his work is characterised by an integrated multi-discipline approach, indicating the full extent of fox studies. The problems associated with the study of higher animals are that there is such a diversity of parameters each exerting its own pressure, be it singly or jointly, upon the individuals, pairs or family groups of the species. In this book, the fox is viewed through all its guises and as one reads through the colourful text the nature of the work of the author is fully realised, the fox as a vector of rabies. Rabies has spread rapidly across the Continent of Europe and there is an ever present danger that it may be introduced to this country, whether by accident or even by the selfishness of the owner who smuggles a pet into these shores. Therefore accumulative data on foxes and other wild animals is of the utmost importance for it could result in the control of the rabies epizootic without total destruction of the fox population. A good deal of the research was conducted in Breconshire and in particular in the Irfon Valley. Therefore there will be little difficulty for those with local knowledge to recognise the scale of activity from the blanket acknowledgement of thanks which the author makes to "the Jones, Hughes, Williamses, Thomases, Prices, Richardses, Pritchardses, Powells, Lloyds, Protheroes, Lewises, Roberts and Davies, and three Hopes, one Bourdillon, one Thrupp, one Raison and one Lovack for their tolerance, interest and help". Mr. Lloyd also has a word of thanks to his neighbours in Builth Wells who patiently bore with the sound of the foxes he has kept at home and which have become part of the family. The book begins with a delighfully entertaining treatment of the legends associated with this animal which has caught the attention of mankind from earliest times. Early natural history observations are carefully noted and it is interesting that some of their conclusions have been corroborated by Twentieth Century research. There follows a treatment of the fox's taxonomy and how and where it is distributed through- out the world. Most of us would expect to recognise a fox; but, from the research work carried out, we are enlightened about the subtle variations of physical size and general appearance that exist. These variations are due to different environments and, even more significantly, different latitudes. The section dealing with the fox's heat dissipation and conservation is quite fascinating, and note is made of the way in which the fox is able to avoid overheating in the unlikeliest of locations. The senses are well discussed, indicating their respective importance when applied to the fox's activities, in particular how they are co-ordinated and attuned for optimum per- formance in response to the stimuli within its immediate environment.